Meet the 2008 - 2009 Board of Directors
Joanne Blythe
Some of Joanne's favourite writing endeavours have included pages for
Herstory:
The Canadian Women's Calendar, the narrative for a slide show on the boreal forest
in Saskatchewan, various newsletters, and an adaptation of The Peace by
Aristophanes for a performance by children ages six to thirteen. She likes to
write stories and the occasional poem, and works at other things to make a
living. Her ideal life would be to write in the winter and spend the summer in
her garden, moving rocks and growing trees and herbs and flowers.
Amy Jo Ehman
Amy Jo turned her writing instincts toward journalism. She worked at the Ottawa
Citizen and the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix before venturing on a career with CBC TV
and Radio. In 2000, she left the Corp. to work as an independent freelancer. She
joined the Writers' Coop in search of a friendly writing community, and quickly became a board
member and then president for two terms. She remains active in Coop programming, both as an
organizer and as an instructor. Check out her online Saskatchewan culinary
journal at
HomeForDinner.blogspot.com
Peter Jonker
Following a career as adult educator (environment, science, technology),
Peter is now attempting to set free the reflective story-teller within. Over the
years he has dabbled in theatre (as actor, director, and playwright), written
poetry, and produced, edited, and authored various non-fiction publications.
Prominent among his publications are: The Song and the Silence: Sitting Wind
(Lone Pine Pub., 1988; Alberta Writers Guild Award for Non-Fiction); A Guide
to Nature Viewing Sites in and around Saskatoon (1992, Saskatoon Nature
Society); The Sand Dunes of Lake Athabasca: Your Adventure in Learning
(2001, University Extension Press); and Thanks to the Sun (2006,
Saskatoon Nature Society). As a long-time recording artist of bird songs, he has also
produced two audio CDs.
Jo Oliver
Jo started writing when she was 12. At 15 she wrote a poem that won a BBC
competition, though no prize money. Thereafter she put her writing life on the
back burner for a few decades to deal with working, training as a nurse, moving
to Canada, getting married, farming, and raising six kids. She took up her pen
again in the 1990s, and now lives and writes in Saskatoon.
Don Reimer
Don joined the Writers’ Coop “kicking and screaming” on the prompting of a friend. He spent his working life in education,
most of it in student counselling. On retirement he decided he must revisit one of his college majors—English—and see what
might come of it. So far, writing has been personally therapeutic and has led to some short stories published locally.
Looking ahead in this genre, he is submitting a fiction item to a national competition and plans to write a book of short stories.
He is enjoying working on the Coop board despite a lack of interest in meetings; this must be a tribute to the people and
ideas he has encountered.
Edda Ryan
Born and raised in Germany, Edda writes short stories, and spends her free
time exploring Saskatoon and area and getting to know its people.
Jeff Smith
Jeff is working toward a doctorate in Computer Science at the University of Saskatchewan.
He lives in Saskatoon with his growing family (third daughter Tayna was born Feb. 29, 2008), and in his spare time
he blogs, writes science fiction, consults, and designs.
Darla Tenold
When she is not plodding away as a lawyer, or otherwise
distracting herself, Darla writes. Her memoir, “Journeys of Hearts and Second
Halves” recently appeared in the anthology My Wedding Dress: True-life Tales
of Lace, Laughter, Tears and Tulle. She also writes poetry and short
fiction.
Jim Weseen
Jim is a former teacher and administrator who works as a Saskatoon freelance writer, editor and proofreader,
when he isn't deep in the solitude of his farmyard in the woods-- which, he says, is his cabin
at the lake without the lake (and the people, and the personal watercraft). His commercial writing has mostly been in the fields of education,
agriculture and biotechnology, but in the purely creative realm he writes occasional literary nonfiction and as well is the co-author
of Hello Sky, a children's picture book set along the Meewasin Trail, written with, and illustrated by, artist Wendy Weseen.
Get Involved!
If you’d like to become more involved with the Coop community, but can’t
commit to regular meetings or take on any more long-term volunteer roles,
consider joining our flock of “active volunteers.”
"Active volunteers" are Coop members who want to help out once in a while,
at their own discretion.
If you’d like to join the team, email
coopinfo@writerscoop.org
When we need extra help we’ll give you a call. You can accept or decline the
request as you wish.
